


build this together

by gracedbybattle



Series: aay'han 'verse [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, ｀
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Families of Choice, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Order 66 Happened Differently (Star Wars), Padawan Kanan Jarrus, Post-Order 66 (Star Wars), Post-War, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracedbybattle/pseuds/gracedbybattle
Summary: A series of connected one-shots in theaay'hanuniverse, where Cody and Obi-Wan escape Order 66, navigate a new relationship, raise Caleb Dume and Cal Kestis, and help Bail Organa grow a rebellion.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: aay'han 'verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985809
Comments: 175
Kudos: 591





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An early night in Cal and Caleb’s life with their new family. Cody and Cal are learning to find their footing with each other, in the smallest - but sometimes most important - of ways.

The pitter-patter of little feet across the steel of the shuttle’s floor takes Cody from restful sleep to wakefulness in nanoseconds. He’s a light sleeper, by product of sleeping on the front lines for years and the military discipline of a soldier. Obi-Wan, exhausted from the last few days, continues to snore softly against his side.

The cabin is dark, quiet except for the hum of the overhead air system and Obi-Wan’s breathing. It can’t be past the first hour of the morning. Their bed is warm with body heat, Cody curled in his usual spot against Obi-Wan’s back with one arm thrown over his side. Cody turns in the bed, careful not to disturb him.

“Cal?” he calls softly, because he knows the sound of both the boys' footsteps and this is definitely their younger charge. “Are you alright?”

Silence. As his eyes quickly adjust to the dark, he can make out the outline of the small boy beside the bed. He clicks on the low light, careful not to overload any of them with a rush of brightness. Cal is standing beside their bed in his rumpled sleep clothes, copper hair in disarray and his eyes wet with unshed tears. He stares up at Cody.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, careful to keep his voice low. Gods know Obi-Wan needs the sleep.

Cal rubs at his eyes with one hand. Both he and Caleb are still having trouble sleeping through the night, with the older boy faring better than the younger. For whatever reason, Caleb has the tenacity and resilience of a rubber band, he bounces back from stress and trauma much quicker. Cal is more sensitive, slower to trust, and more wary than the older boy.

Obi-Wan think’s it’s a byproduct of his gift of psychometry. It must be incredibly overwhelming, to be able to see and feel emotions of someone else through touch alone, Cody thinks. Obi-Wan, who struggled with Force visions at an early age, is less distributed by the ability, and just likes to say that the Force works in mysterious ways. Cody thinks the Force can get karked, if it’s going to traumatize their kids, a sentiment that made Caleb laugh.

Cal bites his lip, staring at the floor instead of Cody. “I can’t sleep,” he admits so quietly Cody almost doesn’t hear him. Another gift from the war, his less-than-perfect hearing. He’s careful not to push Cal, even if he wants to find the root of the problem and get them both back to sleep.

If Caleb is Cody’s shadow, then Cal is Obi-Wan’s. Caleb is easier to talk to, not nearly as reserved and a total chatterbox. Cal can be withdrawn, lost in his own thoughts. Obi-Wan can be the same way, and he excels at drawing the little boy out of his shell.

For a moment, Cody seriously considers waking him.

“Nightmare?” he guesses, pitching his voice as quietly as possible. Both the boys have them, but he thinks Cal’s are worse. Frequent meditation with Obi-Wan helps, but it’s a hard wound to heal. Cal’s eyes jump up to meet him, wide. His hands have drifted to the side of the bed, twisting the bed sheets together.

“Yeah,” he admits in a cracked voice. He doesn’t offer more than that.

It can be harder to get Cal to open up and actually talk about what’s bothering him, and their resident Cal-whisper is still asleep. If the boy was unsettled enough to seek them out, it must have been a bad one. Normally, Cal will hunker down in his bunk and internalize his hurts until someone scoops them out.

A lot like Obi-Wan, actually. Well, Cody has a fool-proof plan for dealing with Obi-Wan when he’s lost in his own head. Maybe it’s a universal cure.

He takes a chance, pulls back the cover and makes sure to watch Cal’s reaction. “Want to hop up here until you can fall back asleep?”

To his surprise, Cal nods and hardly hesitates a second. He scrabbles up and over Cody to lay in the spot between him and Obi-Wan like a tooka, curled into himself. Cody pulls the cover up back over the both of them, twisting to lay on his side and watch him. Obi-Wan still doesn’t move, though his light snores have tapered off.

“Are you alright?”

Cal nods, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He’s pulled the blanket between his fingers, but he isn’t working it anxiously like before. “I’m okay,” he says. “Just. Didn’t want to be alone.”

And god, but Cody aches to such an admission. He and Obi-Wan offer physical affection freely to both kids, ruffling hair, hands on their shoulders, hugs once they felt comfortable enough to accept them. But he hesitates to touch him now, Cal has always been more at ease with Obi-Wan, anyway.

But Cal is his kid as well, and he lets his instinct guide him.

He places a hand against Cal’s shoulder, goes slowly and in view in case the kid is uncomfortable. But Cal doesn’t shrink or flinch away. In fact, he leans into the contact, a sad little sigh leaving his mouth. Thin shoulders lower under Cody’s hand, relaxing, and Cody moves to stroke a hand, up and down his back.

“You want to talk about it?” Cody chances, without stopping the motion. Caleb always wants to talk about what’s bothering, but that’s Caleb. Talkative, all the time.

Cal bites at his lip but doesn’t melt away from him. He nods, tentatively.

“It was on Bacarra,” he says. “We were all there, in the cave,” Cody assumes as himself, Obi-Wan and Caleb, which is surprising. From what Obi-Wan says, most of Cal’s night terrors circle around Jaro Tapal.

“The Empire found us. I tried to stop them, but they just kept coming. They had blasters, they-” he cuts himself off as his voice breaks, watery. Cody swallows. Cal looks up to meet him and his eyes are bottomless. “They just, they killed everybody. Except me.”

And that’s Cal’s worst fear. Being left alone, again. The days he spent alone on Bacarra after Order 66 were lonely, hungry and terrifying. He can’t seem to shake the memory and worries constantly about being left behind. They’d never leave him, but the mind can’t accept that, yet.

“Cal,” Cody says brokenly. He can’t take it. He extends an arm, half expecting it to be rejected. “Come here, _ad’ika_.”

Cal sniffs, a wet sound, and doesn't hesitate. He ducks under Cody’s offered arm and tucks himself under against his side, burying his head against Cody’s chest. Half shocked, he brings both arms around the small body and hugs him to his chest, tucks his head under his chin. “It’s okay,” he says, listening to Cal shudder. “It’s okay. We’re right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

He keeps a hand stroking down the boy’s back, steady and strong. Cal, at least a head shorter than Caleb, melts against his side. They’re both quiet, like neither are willing to wake Obi-Wan, and Cal just allows Cody to hold him.

They lay for a while, longer than Cody can keep track off, before Cal’s shuddered breaths taper off and deepen, slipping into sleep. He’s let go of his hold on the blanket, only to transfer his grip to the front of Cody’s sleep tunic. Cody’s close to dropping off himself, when a familiar voice whispers to him.

“Is he asleep?” Obi-Wan.

“Yes,” he whispers back as Obi-Wan, who is awake, _kriff_ , turns to face them both on his side, seemingly without making the bed dip. “Were you awake the whole time?”

Obi-Wan hums non-committedly, reaching out one hand to smooth down Cal’s red hair. The boy doesn’t so much as move. He’s soundly asleep, now. “You didn’t need me. You had things well in hand.”

Cody opens his mouth to protest, but the words leave him as Obi-Wan’s sink in. Cal came to both of them, but he turned to Cody for comfort and accepted it. It was he that Cal opened up to, his arms that he crawled into and fell asleep in. It would’ve never happened, only a short while ago. It dawns on him then, how far they’ve come. He tightens his grip around Cal, just a little.

Obi-Wan is smiling at both of them, watching the realization dawn across Cody’s face. “You have a way with them,” he says softly, reaching over Cal to press a kiss against Cody’s mouth. It’s light as a feather, but it still makes Cody feel a little lightheaded with love. Obi-Wan ghosts a kiss against the top of Cal’s head, eye’s warm with affection.

Cal makes a noise and they both freeze. But he doesn’t wake, just settles back deeper into Cody’s arm and stretches his neck to pillow his head against Cody’s shoulder. His breath tickles the inside of Cody’s ear, soft little puffs of air.

Obi-Wan, with a knowing look, waves to shut the side light off with the Force and reaches over to trace a hand down Cody’s shoulder. He feels the soft touch of Obi-Wan against his mind, the gentle caress that says _go to sleep, my dear_ and let’s the feeling drift him back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a few more early drafts for other pieces, but if there's something specific you'd like to see in this universe, let me know in the comments! always happy to take prompts and suggestions


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breha Organa is a queen - royalty - born into a life of prestige and finery. She and Cody don’t have much in common, much less anything to talk about. 
> 
> Or so Cody thinks.

Since arriving and settling on Alderaan with Cal and Caleb in tow, they haven’t had many opportunities or invitations to visit the palace where the royal family lives. It’s a little too lavish for him, the large hallways and gleaming floors. Bail and Breha Organa are two of the kindest, most generous people Cody knows, and he likes to give them their space. 

Their house by the lakeshore suits him, and it provides ample space and room for their two young boys to roam. Between running missions for Bail’s associates - Wolffe is starting to call them rebels, but Cody hasn’t caught onto the term just yet - mentoring the boys, and just breathing on their own, he and Obi-Wan don’t have a lot of time left for anything else. 

It’s been nearly two tenday since he’s seen the twins, and he’s shocked by how much they’ve grown. Bail had commed immediately after their return from Crait, a successful scouting mission, nothing more. The twin’s powers are growing by the day. Aayla stops in and assists when she can, but they prefer Obi-Wan. At first, it was difficult for him to accept that. The wound from Anakin’s betrayal and death is a never ending bruise, a bone deep pain that fades but never heals. It’s still hard, sometimes, for Obi-Wan to look at Anakin's twins and see how strongly they radiate in the Force. He loves them immensely, he told Cody as much, but it can be painful. 

He and Obi-Wan stopped by the palace first on their return, so he can have a little time with them before they drive their adoptive parents crazy. It’ll probably become a more frequent occurrence as they grow into their power, Cody realizes. 

“You can sit, you know.” Breha Organa’s light voice echoes through the long hallway, startling Cody from his thoughts. He turns to face their benefactor, idly wondering if his boots are scuffing the floor. Queen Breha is always regal, her long, dark hair done up in complicated pleats and patterns but her wardrobe is more casual than usual. “This isn’t a museum, as much as it may look like one. I promise the furniture is made for sitting.”

“I think I might break it,” he says, surprised into honesty. Free from the war and the army, it’s still hard to break all the conditioning that taught him he was a clone, an object, not a person. Not the way other beings were. Clones don’t belong in a palace, sipping spiced wines with royalty. They belong in the barracks, with the tasteless rations they’re lucky enough to be given. 

“I doubt that,” Breha tells him, settling into one of the nearby chairs and patting the one next to her. “My cousin, Decaenes, was twice your size and he slept in one of these once. If it stood up to that, it can survive anything.”

Cody nearly snorts in amusement. He gingerly sits in the chair across from her, trailing the carved wood with his index finger. Everything about the palace screams ‘expensive’ in a way he’s not entirely comfortable with. His and Obi-Wan’s house is much more natural. Silence lingers between them for a moment. The birds are singing outside the open windows, the sounds of waterfalls against the walls barely audible but still echoing down the passageway. 

“I don’t think I ever thanked you,” Cody surprises himself by talking first. “Personally. For taking us all in. It was an enormous risk, what you and your husband have done. I can never repay the debt we owe you-”

“It’s not a debt,” Breha cuts in smoothly. “What was carried out against you was evil. We only wanted to help in whatever way we could.”

“Still,” Cody persists, locking gazes with her. No part of her is intimidated or even awkward to be sitting here with him. Cody is a clone, a former Marshal Commander of the GAR, born in the trenches to do the impossible. And she is a queen. The two of them have never had any stand-alone conversations without their respective others. It should be strange but, surprisingly he realizes, it doesn’t feel that way. “Thank you.”

She nods, “Of course. I only wish we could have done more.”

“You did more than anyone else,” Cody says truthfully. He thinks of the days after Utapau, wonders what they would have done if they hadn’t had a safe haven to return to. Obi-Wan had once mentioned Tatooine, Dagobah. Cody’s desperately grateful they ended up here instead. 

“Bail was horrified by what happened at the Temple,” Breha says. Cody saw it first hand, walked the corpse littered hallways, inspected the bodies himself. He knows. “He wanted to do whatever he could, to make it right.”

“The galaxy would be better off if there were more men like him,” Cody says and he means it. “Maybe then we wouldn’t be in such a mess.” He thinks of Cal and Caleb, how easy it was to take them in and make them a family. It strikes him, how Breha and Bail did the same with Luke and Leia. That must’ve been even harder, considering their close association with Padme Amidala and the twin’s Force sensitivity. He admires them, immensely. “Obi-Wan thinks very highly of him.”

“Rest assured, Bail is just the same. He talks at length about his respect for Master Kenobi.” Though most of the _vode_ and others have dropped the familiar moniker, Bail never been able to get rid of the habit. Wolffe still calls him _sir_ occasionally, but it’s rare. 

“I think the last person that called him that was Cal,” Cody wonders aloud, remembering the first time they saw Cal on Bacarra, how frightened he was. Cal and Caleb both call Obi-Wan “Da” now, an older term common for Stewjoni. Cody, remains their _buir_. 

As soon as Obi-Wan is done with his session with the twins, they’ll return to reunite with them at the house. He’d commed Wolffe on their way in, to make sure they know they’re alright and will be home soon. It was technically Bly’s turn to stay with them, but Wolffe had been booted from his rotation for the last pickup and bullied his way into staying with his nephews. 

“You must be anxious to see them again,” Breha says sympathetically. “I can hardly stand to be away from Luke and Leia for more than a day. They change so much.”

“They do,” Cody agrees. Caleb has grown by leaps and bounds lately. Cal is still short and skinny, a bit younger and slower to mature. 

“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see you and Obi-Wan are back.” She stops her sentence to click off her blinking comm and then clicks it back away in her pocket. “I believe he and Bail have left the east wing, they should be along in a moment.”

“You’ll have to bring them up sometime,” she continues and it takes Cody a second to remember she's talking about Cal and Caleb. “I know we have all been...unspeakably busy. But I would love to have you all up for latemeal, one of these days.”

“We’d be honored.” Cody hopes the tips of his ears aren’t burning. It’s almost like he’s living in an alternate universe some days, from life as a clone, as Republic property with no rights, to someone actively invited to formal dinners with an Alderaanian queen. He could’ve never imagined. 

“Bail keeps making noises about getting everyone together, for something special.” She laughs at that. “Though it would be a lot to coordinate. Bless him, he hasn’t thought that far yet.”

_Everyone,_ he thinks with a mix of trepidation and excitement. _That would be a crowd._ “He’s a good man.” Cody feels it bears repeating. “One of the best I know.”

“Why do you think I married him?” Breha smiles at him, knowingly. She winks at him, gives him a nudge with her shoulder. “I know a good man when I see one. Snatched him up for myself.”

A noise catches Cody's attention and they both turn in tandem. Obi-Wan is rounding the corner towards them, talking to Breha's husband. They appear deep in conversation, heads bowed together. For a moment, the sunlight catches Obi-Wan’s hair, burning it a brilliant copper gold. 

Even after all this time, Cody still thinks he’s stunning.

“Yes,” he says, eyes only for one man. “I know exactly what you mean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a lot of love for bail organa, i cant deny
> 
> also, cody is besotted. cant really blame him


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody waits for Wolffe’s return and worries. He’s been so hopeful, for so long. It might finally pay off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> authors note: i think you've all been waiting for this

The light shining off the lake this morning is crystal clear, gleaming a deep blue, nearly green in the sun. The mountainous backdrop looks like something out of a holonet drama, mist curling around the snow capped peaks. 

Some days, Alderaan is too beautiful to be real. 

Laughter is echoing up from the water, and it makes Cody’s heart warm. Cal and Caleb are down by the shore, eagerly playing _get’shuk_ with Bly and Hunter. The two former padawans are leaping into the air after the ball, breathless with laughter and giggles. Bly and Hunter are doing a good job of making it a fair fight, faltering and missing contact on purpose; on one occasion they nearly run each other over. It’s the most informal game of _get’shuk_ that Cody can ever remember seeing. 

“They seem to be having fun,” Obi-Wan appears at his side, sinking into the opposite chair. The main living area of the house is framed by an enormous window that looks out over the water and has a clear view of the lakefront down from the house. It’s an excellent vantage point to watch the boys. 

Cody snorts. “They'll sleep well tonight, that’s for sure.” 

“The boys, or Hunter and Bly?” Obi-Wan asks. 

Cody smirks. “Both.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan’s voice is warm, relaxed. It’s a good look on him. His eyes are bright, almost mischievous. Cody wonders what he’s been up to. It’s the patented Kenobi look of trouble. “I didn’t realize our children were so athletic and talented, to defeat two _mando’a_ at their own game.”

“I’m pretty sure Bly and Cal are winning,” Cody muses, without taking his eyes from the beach. Hunter deflects a pass away from Bly and nearly knocks him over sideways. Cal and Caleb scramble against each other for the ball, Cal just manages to out scuffle his brother. Both boys go to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Just as Cal gets the ball over his head - no small feat, the thing is _heavy_ \- Caleb decides to play dirty. He gets his hands under his brother’s armpits and Cal squeals, immediately dropping the ball to escape being tickled. Caleb, not about to be deterred, abandons the game to chase him. The younger red-headed boy sprints from his older brother, calling for help. Bly takes off after the two of them, easily eating up the distance with his long strides. He reaches Cal right before Caleb does, scoping the younger boy onto his shoulders and charging into the water away from him. 

Caleb stops at the shoreline, obviously wary of jumping in, unlike Bly. He doesn’t notice Hunter coming up behind him. He yells as he’s lifted and playfully dunked by his uncle, comes up sputtering wet. Hunter’s booming laugh mixes with Cal’s higher laughter and Bly’s chuckles. 

“Come on, kid,” Cody can hear him say playfully, unashamedly fishing Caleb out to perch onto his shoulders to match Bly. They wade in together, wrestling against Bly and Cal until Cal loses his balance and goes toppling into the water. They both come up laughing, Hunter dumps Caleb in with them and Bly tackles Hunter head-on, effectively soaking them all. 

“At least it’s warm,” Obi-Wan mutters watching them. Cody shudders. The mornings are still too cool for him to consider taking a swim this early, but Bly loves the water. He doesn’t hesitate to wade in for his morning exercise at first light. Aayla usually accompanies him. Obi-Wan would just as soon walk one-handed through a nest of gundarks than take a freezing morning dip. He doesn’t really know what the Bad Batch does, but they’re all crazy anyway. He doesn’t ask. 

“Not warm enough,” Cody responds, unable to help himself from checking his comm. Nothing. He clicks it back and stuffs it into his pocket. 

Obi-Wan is watching him when he looks up. He clears his throat. “He’ll comm.” He reaches across the distance between them and lays a hand on Cody’s knee. “As soon as he can.”

Cody tries not to let his doubt show. Wolffe is a paranoid bastard, just as paranoid as Cody. He won’t risk sending a transmission deep in Imperial space, no matter who they’ve found. He probably won’t send anything at all. Obi-Wan knows he’s right. He’s just trying to settle Cody’s nerves, as much as he can. He lets his hand travel down the leg to his ankle and massages the joint there, lightly. “He’ll be back soon.” His voice is sympathetic. 

“I know,” Cody says, even if it still feels his skin is too tight for his body. He wants Wolffe back _now_ , wants to know who - if - he has someone with him. He’s being selfish. He sleeps better when they’re all home, and not out in the cross hairs of one of Palpatine’s ships. “I know he will.”

The happy sounds down on the beach are still resonating down the beach an hour later, when a figure emerges from the corner of the path that leads up to the house. Cody starts from his seat, dislodging Obi-Wan from his side, who curled next to him with a cup of tea once it was clear Cody had no intention of moving. 

The figure materializes from the lingering fog, the outline of a _vod_. It’s Echo. 

Cody is on his feet and halfway to meet him before he can even comprehend what he’s doing. 

“Cody,” Echo calls, a little breathless. His face is flushed, eyes bright. It catches the breath in Cody’s chest, pounds it steady with hope. He can feel Obi-Wan rush to catch up to him, distantly feels the touch of his hand on his shoulder. 

“They’re back,” Echo says. “You’re going to want to see this.”

\--

The Alderaan palace still feels surreal, walking it’s magnificent halls and sculpted doorways. For once, Cody can’t feel distracted by it. He has one focus. Echo is at his side, following him step-for-step. Obi-Wan is behind them. They left Bly, Hunter, Cal and Caleb back at the house, with promises to meet them as soon as they can shuffle the boy into a dry pair of clothes. 

As it is, Cody can’t sit still. He’s been hoping - praying, wishing, begging - for this day since the Republic fell. He can’t wait any longer. 

He strides into the receiving hallway with Echo and Obi-Wan and stops dead. 

Wolffe is there, face cracked open in a grin. There are three figures standing with them. One, the shortest, is a dead-giveaway. The blue and white striped montrals could only belong to one person.

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan sounds gutted, stepping forward with a hand pressed to his mouth. The Torgruta is already crossing the room at the sound of his voice, crashing into his arms with a desperate sound. Obi-Wan wraps his arms around her in turn, clutching at her shoulders with his eyes closed. 

The other human - they are humans, both the same height and build - turn to face them and Cody’s heart stops. 

“Fox,” he whispers, gutted. “ _Rex_.”

His older and younger brother both stare back at him with disbelieving eyes. Fox seems rooted to the spot but Rex - Rex, his _vod’ika_ , his little brother - makes a wounded noise and grabs Cody before he can move, crushing him to his chest. 

“Cody,” he breathes against his ear. “ _Cody_. You’re here.”

“Rex,” he can’t stop saying his brother’s name, like a broken record. He’s here, in his arms. He thought Rex was dead. 

Another set of arms settle around both of them and Cody’s grasps at the forearms, pulling Fox in. He can hear a shuddered breath, can’t tell who it’s from. It might be all of them. He can feel them wavering and gives into the shake, goes to the ground with all three of them wrapped around each other. 

It’s felt like an eternity since the Order. He’s lost and gained so much. He’s settled into a steady relationship with Obi-Wan, taken in two _jetii_ younglings and staked out a house of their own. But there’s been a hole in his heart where his brothers should be. Wolffe, Bly, Echo and the others - with each one they brought home, he feels more whole. Now, he might even feel like himself. 

There’s no point in stopping the tears. He doesn’t even want to. 

He curls over Rex, knows that Fox is doing the same to him, and feels yet another hand settle against his back. Wolffe, he knows without even looking. White noise is rushing through his ears, drowning out any other noises in the room and leaving him feeling lightheaded. Rex gasps a dry sob into his shoulder, Cody just hugs him harder. Fox is shaking, arms trembling but still tight around his waist. 

“ _Kot’ika_ ,” Fox rasps and his heart swells at the nickname. Only Fox, Wolffe and Ponds have ever called him that. 

“ _Ori’vod_ ,” he whispers back, feels like he’s back on Kamino for moment, surrounded by his batchmates and only two feet tall, young and naive. He’d been hoping, wishing, that they’d find Rex. There was hope there, a trail to follow, even if it took them down a thousand dead ends and dashed hopes. But there was always hope. 

Fox, he never dared to dream for. Fox was Palpatine’s personal guard, he would have never made it past the doors of the Senate building on Coruscant had he tried to defect. When they’d evaluated the most accessible clones for extraction, Fox wasn’t even on the list. It wasn’t possible, no matter how thin the line of Wolffe’s mouth had been pressed in frustration. But he’s here now. Battered and bruised, obviously. His eyes are hollow and filled with emotion, staring at Cody like he can see the inside of his soul and all his thoughts. He lifts a hand, shaky to Cody’s hair and brushes his unruly curls back. Fox is so much thinner than he remembers, nearly gaunt with a patchy beard and his hair shorn back. 

“Have you been here this whole time?” Rex chokes out, going for teasing but can’t land his usual mark, it’s totally strangled. Clogged with tears. “In a palace?”

“We live by the lake, actually,” Obi-Wan pipes up, arms still wrapped around his grand padawan. Ahsoka doesn’t look like she intends to let him go anytime soon, but they’ve both turned to watch the brothers on ground. Both their eyes are red, but he’s smiling. “I don’t think Bail and Breha would appreciate us invading their quarters.”

Wolffe snorts. He’s standing at their back to brace Fox from toppling over. “Him and the General, maybe. But not the two kids.”

“Kids?” Fox sounds even more gobsmacked than before. Cody wasn’t sure that was possible. They need to get him somewhere in a bed before he collapses. “What kids?”

“Mine,” Cody says, unable to keep the hint of pride out of his voice when he thinks of Cal and Caleb. “Obi-Wan and I have two boys.”

“ _Shab_ ,” Rex whispers. He’s staring at Cody with wide eyes and the hint of a smile on his face. He knew - had known for years - how gone Cody was on his general. “You really don’t waste any time, do you _ori’vod_?”

Obi-Wan clears his voice, steadier now. He has an arm around Ahsoka’s shoulders and his smile could split the sky in half. “Cal and Caleb,” he explains. Ahsoka has leaned in to lay her head almost on his shoulder. Rex hasn’t given an inch on his hold on Cody’s shirt. Fox hasn’t moved either, even though he looks like a stiff breeze could take him away.

“What, did you give them matching names so you wouldn’t forget?” Rex laughs, hoarse. He gripes the nape of Cody’s neck, knocks their foreheads together. 

“They’re not stray tookas we picked up on the street. They already had names, you _di’kut_ ,” Cody rests against his, relishes the feel of his brothers all around him, real. They’re alive. Gods, he can’t imagine what he did to deserve it. “If I remembered all your names with identical faces, I’d think I could remember two little boys.”

Bail Organa steps into the room and pauses, takes in the sight of the clones sprawled on the ground. Echo has joined the pile on the floor, silent tears streaming down his face as he embraces Rex. Rex had nearly lost it all over again, only letting Cody go to embrace his old ARC trooper. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Bail’s smooth, polite voice cuts in. His eyes are kind. There’s a special place in _Manda_ for men like Bail Organa, Cody thinks. People that take up a good cause for no reason other than it being the right thing to do. For risking everything, just to help someone else. They can never repay what he’s given them here. He wonders fleetingly where the twins are and shoves the thought from his mind before it can leave his mouth. They can share the news of Luke and Leia once he’s sure the shock won’t kill any of them. The twins aren’t going anywhere, after all. 

“I hate to interrupt, but I do have a medic on standby to look our new residents over,” he says warmly. 

"Of course," Cody says just as Rex and Fox try to protest at the same time. Ahsoka, clearly the brains of their operation, just nods in agreement. _Di'kut's_ , the both of them. If they think Cody's not going to have them scrubbed medically from top to bottom and in his sights for at least a few tenday, they're crazy. He might not ever let them out of his sight again. The thought is a familiar, one he's had of Obi-Wan, and - more regularly - of Cal and Caleb. 

As though summoned, a commotion silences them all, from the front of the palace. Multiple voices ring out, two that are unmistakably familiar and young. 

"That’s them,” Cody says, climbing to his feet and taking Rex with him. Echo still has a hand on his former captain’s shoulder. Wolffe hauls Fox up and practically slings him over his arm. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are side by side, having their own quiet conservation. “Those are my boys.”

They’re all going to all meet in a few minutes. His old and new world’s colliding. Rex is staring at him, still shocked with big, wet eyes. He looks haggard, like the time hasn’t been kind to him and absolutely bowled over with this place and this moment. Fox is rolling better with the punches, but he's even worse off physically, like someone's beat him to hell and and back. But they're here, they're safe now. There’s nothing time can’t heal, Cody's learned. Besides, he's getting better at helping heal those wounds. At long as they're together, he's not afraid of anything. 

“Welcome to Alderaan,” Cody says to Rex and Fox both. They’re here, his family. He lets the emotion clog his throat, doesn't give damn who sees him cry. He can't remember ever being happier. “Welcome home.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody has a new outfit and a new mission. He's not fond of either.

His new suit is stiff and tight in many places. Cody stares at himself over his shoulder in the mirror, feeling like he’s looking at someone else. The clean cut garment is similar to his old dress greys, but more grand, with purple and gold piping in the seams. The cut across the chest is asymmetrical, the clasps run diagonally across his chest and tapper at the waist. The collar is higher than he’s used to and the tight, new fabric almost feels strangling. He pulls at it. 

“Stop that,” Obi-Wan admonishes, slapping his hand away from his throat. His _cyare’s_ blue eyes are light and smiling. Deft, light hands trails down the elegant planes of Cody’s gear, brushing away any debris. “You’ll ruin it.”

Cody coughs, self-conscious. “I feel ridiculous,” he admits. 

“You look dashing,” Obi-Wan retorts. He moves behind Cody with the customary sash in his hand. The garment is lighter weight than he would expect and a deep, rich purple. He loops it over Cody’s shoulder, securing it to the side of his jacket and draping it across his back. “And very handsome.”

“If it was any tighter, I couldn’t breathe.”

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes, tugging at a complicated knot on the cord that sits across the lapel. “You wore a suit during the war,” he points out. “And you can’t very well show up to the Senate in your regular day wear.”

“I know.” 

He’s right. The Senate members would take one look at his scuffed, well-worn boots and loose, threadbare shirts and send them the other way. Bail asked him to be here, to speak on behalf of all his brothers and the refugees. It’s their first real chance at striking a blow against Palpatine, one step closer to removing him from power. He won’t go quietly, they already know that, but if the Senate remains intact, they can leverage the other star systems to keep the Republic together. 

If the Senate splinters or today doesn’t go their way, it’s going to be an uphill battle. 

He must be as tense as he feels because Obi-Wan’s hands pause, and come to rest up on his shoulders, instead. Cody can feel the warmth flood his body in a rush of affection, turning into Obi-Wan. What he’d really like to do, is take them both home, get Cal and Caleb and spend a few days in the mountains, walking the woods and sleeping under the stars. Leave the _osik_ to the politicians, where it belongs. 

His _cyare’s_ hands squeeze once in reassurance, brushing a kiss against his cheek. His trimmed beard tickles. “For luck,” he whispers. 

And, well. Cody has never been one to let a moment pass him by. 

He takes the moment of levity to his advantage and turns in Obi-Wan’s hold, catches his slender wrist in his hand, presses them both against the wall and kisses him soundly. Obi-Wan makes a noise of surprise, but melts against him quickly, pressing his mouth back and catching his lower lip in his teeth. For a moment, it’s just the two of them. Simple. Cody enjoys the familiarity of it for a second, the scrape of Obi-Wan’s beard against his face, the press of another body to his own, that damnable suit between them. 

“Eh-em.”

The sound of someone behind them forces Cody to blink his eyes open and he silently prays for strength. Specifically, the strength to not actually punch his younger brother. 

“Yes, Rex?” he grits between teeth, trying not to grind them. 

Rex coughs, trying to hide his amusement. “They’re ready for us,” he announces. He’s dressed less formally than Cody, but still more proper than his usual wear. Breha was determined that as Alderaaian dignitaries, they were appropriately dressed. For all the kindness the royal house has shown them, they can at least pretend to be upstanding. 

He sighs, long and frustrated. “I suppose it’s time to go then,” but doesn’t let Obi-Wan go. He doesn’t want to. He’s faced so many battles, much more precarious positions than this, but he has always had Obi-Wan at his side, to watch his back. It feels strange to be going into a fight without him. They could use the famous Negotiator, for this one. But he can’t. The Jedi’s standing in the galaxy is precarious at best and Bail can’t be found to be hiding fugitives until their position within the Senate against Palpatine is stronger. There will be time for that, later. Not today. 

“I wish you were coming with us,” he lets himself admit. Things have changed so much since the war. He lets himself admit weaknesses and wants. Obi-Wan's smile melts a little into something tinged more wistful. He cups a hand against Cody’s face, traces his distinct scar. 

“I’m needed here,” he reminds him, pressing an image of Caleb and Cal into his mind. Their mental connection has strengthened so much, so that he can feel more than impressions and touches. Their _ad’ika_ are worried and at least one of their _buire_ should be with them. This delegation is a gamble, a fairly safe one, but a gamble all the same. 

He pulls back from Cody’s hold with a final press of lips to his brow. “ _Oya_ ,” he says. “We’ll be waiting for you, when you get back.”

“ _Oya_ ,” Cody repeats, stepping away and stealing himself for everything that comes with being a protector, a guardian, a politician. He can do this. He has something to return to, afterall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys. the restraint that i had to exercise not to make a 'this suit looks good on you but it'd look better on the floor' joke was incredible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bly doesn't have much trust in Fox's cooking, but he's got plenty to chose from, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: what is UP my people!
> 
> i apologize for taking a hiatus on this for a while, but i have been so consumed with election coverage (i live in america) that i legitimately couldn't focus on anything else. TRUMP'S OUT! never been so happy 
> 
> anyways, someone asked for a food disaster at one point, and this is probably not what you were imagining anon, but this is what my mind arrived at!

“What is _that_?” Bly stares, eyes wide. 

Aayla laughs at him, a hand on his shoulder. “Those are dru’un slices,” she admonishes lightly. Her eyes are dancing with amusement. “Master Yoda used to love them.”

Bly, bless his sweet soul, doesn’t look a bit convinced. He steps lightly around the nearest chair to the next one, further away from the dish on the table. Unlike a lot of his brothers, he’s incredibly picky. “I think I’ll skip that one,” he says warily, watching Aayla take the seat next to his. 

“What’s wrong _vod_?” Rex comes sauntering through the adjacent door, hands scrubbing against a towel. There’s a huge, teasing grin on his face and he’s still wearing an apron around his waist. “Not your taste?”

Bly shudders. “I don’t think anything Fox makes is my taste.” Aalya laughs softly but she can’t disagree with him. There are two things that Fox really enjoys in his new life: cooking and gardening. Bly refuses to call what he does cooking. Experimenting is more like it. Wolffe is always ready to try something new, and between the two of them, they whip up the most...interesting dishes. 

Some of them are practically alive, and not by design. Bly refuses them, on principle. 

Most of their meal was made by Cody and Bail, with assistance from Aalya, Ahsoka, Hunter and Rex. Obi-Wan - whose talents don’t extend past the ability to boil water for tea - is banned from the kitchen. He’s kept their younger boys preoccupied with foraging for fruits down in the valley. They returned a little while ago, Obi-Wan looking as put together and proper as when he left, Cal and Caleb in desperate need of a new change of clothes. 

It’s amazing how truly messy little boys can be, when they put their mind to it. 

As though summoned, Obi-Wan walks in behind Rex, eyes widening at the spread in front of him. 

“Force,” he breathes, a little awed. “I hope there’s a small army outside, to help us eat all of this.”

The table is laden with as many different foods as could be imagined, soups and meats, cheeses and tarts, more types of bread that Aayla can even name. There’s a plethora of native fresh fruits that Cal and Caleb helped Obi-Wan pick this morning as a centerpiece, framed by a truly outrageous amount of pots of Alderaan stew. When the _vode_ go all out, they don’t leave anything to chance. 

“I think we’ll manage it,” Rex says, clapping a hand against Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

“It all looks delicious, Obi-Wan,” Aayla cuts in warmly.

“Most of it,” Bly mutters under his breath, still eyeing the dru’un slices, coated with a liberal amount of fish sauce, with distrust. 

“Your _riduur_ doesn’t take no for an answer,” Rex drawls, smug, to Obi-Wan. “He likes to host a feast.”

It’s teasing, the brotherly banter that none of the clones ever seem to be able to turn off. But Obi-Wan ignores the bait completely, just stares off into the kitchen area - they can all hear Cody ordering his assistants like they’re still on the front lines - and smiles stupidly. Obi-Wan and Cody finally spoke the _riduurok_ a few weeks ago. They’re both still honeymooning, Wolffe says. 

“He does, indeed,” he agrees, besotted. Rex pulls a face, feigning disgust, and shoves him in the shoulder playfully.

“Don’t start that,” he warns. “I had to listen to Cody for years before you both got your act together. Don’t subject me to it now.” Obi-Wan just laughs. 

Rex has gained an incredible amount of weight back since he arrived nearly a year ago, half of it muscle. Even though he and Obi-Wan are similar in height, the difference standing next to one another is staggering. Bly is so relieved to see it, proof of the health of his brothers, standing in front of him. Rex, Ahsoka, and Fox looked the part of fugitives when they arrived, beaten, bedraggled, skinny and exhausted. Fox - the worst of the three of them - had been the slowest to recover, but even he is making a slow but steady comeback. His sharp wit is returning in leaps and bounds as well, surprising them all when they least expect it. 

With each brother that returns, Cody becomes more whole. Bly’s batchmate has completely settled into their new life. 

“At least no one will go hungry,” Obi-Wan says. He’s the only one that doesn’t startle at the sound of a commotion - almost a crash - from the back entry way. The former General of the 212th battalion just sighs, long suffering. Bly is frozen, staring at Aalya, who is staring at Obi-Wan. She brings a hand to her mouth and tries not to laugh. 

“Caleb can be such a sensible child,” he mourns, already making for the door. “Except when Wrecker is around,” and leaves without any more explanation. Echo pops in the door as he brushes by him, pressing up against the doorway to let him pass. He takes in the table and whistles low. 

“Everybody here?” Rex asks pointedly from the way Echo just came and Obi-Wan left. “I think we’ve got everything ready to go.”

“They’re here,” Echo affirms. “Just wrangling them all together.” 

The entire house is warm and noisy, full of familiar faces and presences that are peaceful and content just to be together. It reminds Aayla, in a wistful way, of how the Temple used to feel, before the war. 

“Better hurry then,” Rex winks at Aayla and Bly, turning back for the kitchen. “Cody will have all our heads if we let it go cold.”

Everything is ready, just waiting for its people to arrive. The table is set, the food prepared, and their _aliit_ are coming together. It started as a memorial, to remember the fallen on the anniversary of the Order and honor their memory. But that was such a sad, mournful thing and neither Mandalorians or Jedi have a knack for dwelling in the past. So, it has naturally become a tradition, a holiday of sorts, to gather everyone together and eat until they can’t anymore. To drink, and laugh, and tease one another. To see how big the children have grown, and to count the new faces among them. Every year, it will grow larger with more refugees that they free. 

Aayla can only imagine what next year will look like. 

Bly slides a hand in her’s, warm and calloused. “Hey,” he says softly in that kind voice that she loves. She fell for him, over everyone else, and it saved him. It saved her. They were - are - so lucky. “Are you ready for this?”

“Always,” she says to him, watching his brothers stream in. Fox and Wolffe are first, followed by Rex bringing in a final plate, Force only knows how they’ll fit it on the table. Ahsoka is next carrying Luke and Leia on opposite hips with Bail and Breha Organa behind her, then Cody, Cal, Caleb and Obi-Wan streaming in together, with the Bad Batchers behind them. Their newest arrivals, Cere Junda and Trilla Suduri, are the last to file in. Peace and contentment flow through the beings around her, warm like sunlight. Bly is beside her, as steady as a rock. 

It’s more than she could have ever hoped for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really ready for thanksgiving food, can you tell


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepy mornings are rare, even more so when you’re got so many kids. The last part, Cody can hear in Wolffe’s voice.

Mornings dawn beautifully on Alderaan. Some mornings are clear, bright sunshine and blue skies, others are misty and tinged with a sleepy, soft grey tone. But the best time about mornings is that Cody cannot see them from the comfort of his bedroom. With the screens against the windows drawn closed, it’s a wonderful pitch black and blessedly cool. Blissfully content, Cody stretches against the sheets, rolling to his side and just enjoys the peace. With three kids in the house, they don’t get a lot of it. The man in the bed next to him is warm and lax with sleep, softly snoring as he lays on his back. Cody props on hand under his head and shuffles closer, just to trace the faint scar on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

“Mmm,” Obi-Wan sleepily mumbles at him at the touch, scrunching his nose with his eyes still closed. He doesn’t even open them, just turns into Cody’s side and curls against his chest without missing a beat. Cody brings a hand up to card through his hair, something he knows from experience will send his _riduur_ right back to sleep if he’s still drifting on the edge. 

Their pocket of warmth is peaceful, but not for long. The sharp echo of voices from somewhere deeper in the house reach his ears and then steadily grow louder. It’s the sound of children, multiple children. Cody sighs. Obi-Wan, half asleep, huffs a laugh against his shoulder, presses an open-mouthed kiss to the bare skin there. He still hasn’t opened his eyes. Now that the point of waking him is moot, Cody rolls on top of him and leans forward to press a kiss to his jaw, then his lips. Obi-Wan, entirely loose limbed and relaxed, smiles against his mouth and kisses him back. He blinks awake to look Cody in the eye as he pulls away, smiles at him, blue eyes still full of sleep. 

“Morning, _cyar'ika_ ,” Cody breathes to him, running a hand down his arm, still sleep-warm. If he had his way, they’d stay here all day, in their own little cocoon away from the rest of the world. They’ll never be that lucky, but he can dream. 

“Good morning,” Obi-Wan echoes back to him. The approaching volley of voices make him wince. He’s not yet fully awake; needs at least a cup of caf to get moving. It’s a good thing he woke up so that Cody could steal a second for them before they’re invaded. 

“Think we could convince them we’re still asleep?” Obi-Wan asks, only half teasing. 

“As if that would stop them.” Obi-Wan is occasionally a dreamer, Cody is a realist.

“Mmm.” Cody’s _cyare_ hums into the pillows. “I think before caf that they’re _your_ children.” 

Cody laughs, running a hand through Obi-Wan auburn bangs. “' _We_ will raise warriors,’ remember? He rolls over and takes Obi-Wan with him, chances stealing another kiss before they’re interrupted. Obi-Wan indulges him, melting against the movement. “There were no stipulations on when and where that would take place.” 

Obi-Wan just groans. The footsteps are closer, right beyond their door. 

“Brace yourself,” Cody says knowingly, right before the door to their bedroom bursts open and the light floods in. 

“Da! _Buir_!” Five year old Ace bursts into their room with the force of a tiny tornado, launching onto their bed and just barely managing to cannonball into Obi-Wan before Cody snatches him up, pulling him against his body.

Ace is still new to their family, a native from Haruun Kal orphaned when the Imperial’s took occupation to the planet. Hunter and Wrecker had brought him back after a tip from Hondo Ohnaka on a group of small children being trafficked in the Outer Rim. Ace was a very small child with dark skin, dark eyes and curly hair who latched onto Cody quickly and, well. It wasn’t like they didn't have the room. They’d managed to relocate all the rest of the children with their parents through Bail’s connections, save little Katooni, who Bly and Aayla had taken in. Ace and Katooni were the only two in the eleven rescued younglings to possess force sensitivity. Their newest son is fairly low baseline for a force sensitive - Obi-Wan explained that Mace Windu was an example of the power the planet's inhabitants could possess - and once he was convinced he was safe, has been nothing but a giggly, sweet youngster. 

It’s such a contrast from Cal and Caleb, who were both traumatized by the Purge and took their own time to come around and feel safe within a family structure. Ace, younger and less directly affected by the violence against the Jedi, has a fluid memory and folded into their lives with an ease that his brothers took time to find. 

A noise behind him and a flash of red hair follow, more gingerly, up into the bed. Cal, now a gangly coming 15 years old, slips under the covers to Obi-Wan’s empty right hand side. Caleb is hot on their heels, though he doesn’t hop on the bed like his brothers, just stands at the foot of it and runs a hand through his hair with embarrassment, a nervous tic he’s never been able to shake. 

“Sorry _buir_ ,” he says sheepishly. “I couldn’t stop them.”

“It’s alright Caleb,” Cody says goodnaturedly. He pulls Ace close to him, nuzzles against his neck just to make their youngest son giggle. “It’s not easy to wrangle these two monsters.”

“Monster!” Ace laughs at him, pushing at his father’s head, trying to dislodge him. Cody just presses closer, blowing huffs of air against his skin. Ace is ridiculously ticklish. He squeals and tries to grab at Cody’s arms but he rolls him onto the bed, effectively pinning him. 

Cal, meanwhile, burrows next to Obi-Wan and hardly moves. Obi-Wan sits up beside him, fully awake now, and is stroking a hand down his back, just the way Cal likes it. Of all their kids, Cal seems to need touch the most, even if he’s the most affected by it. Ace will tumble into someone’s arms at the slightest invitation - Cody’s brothers all fight over who gets to hold him when they frequently visit - but he doesn’t seem to need it like Cal does. 

“Early morning?” he asks, holding Ace but looking at Caleb. Their oldest isn’t an early riser either. 

Caleb pulls a face. Now that he can actually see him, Cody realizes that Caleb is in his rumbled sleep clothes and his hair is an absolute mess, like he just tumbled out of bed himself. “Ace was up, he woke Cal and me. I figured he was headed here next. Tried to cut him off.” He sounds apologetic. 

“It’s alright,” Cody says, quick to reassure him. Ace wiggles to be free but Cody just wraps him up, snug against his chest. “We needed to be up, anyway.”

Obi-Wan raises one eyebrow at him without so much as moving a muscle. “We most certainly were not already up,” he says, though his tone is teasing. “It’s bad enough Ahsoka wants to practice katas before sunrise, now this?” He raises a hand against his eyes, tips his head back dramatically. Ace giggles. “I’ll never get any rest at this rate.” 

Cody just rolls his eyes. “I’ll start the caf machine,” he says neutrally, climbing to his feet with Ace in his arms, but not before he tweeks Cal’s ear. It’s the only part of the boy visible, except for his red hair. Cal doesn’t as much as move. He can sleep all day, when it suits him, like a happy tooka. 

“Up, _ik’aad_ ,” he says to Ace - at five years old, he’s the baby of the family - tossing him up and nodding at Caleb. “You can help me with breakfast. Both of you.” Caleb brightens at that. He loves to cook, something Cal and Obi-Wan apparently have no interest in. Caleb nods, taking Ace from Cody when he passes him over. 

“Come on _vod’ika_ ,” he says brightly, and Ace wraps his arms around his older brother, grinning brightly. All he wanted was them all awake and some food, likely. He’s a pretty easy kid to please. “Let’s let the sleepy heads have another minute.”

“Bless you,” Obi-Wan mutters fervently to Cody as they leave, half of it put on for dramatic effect and half of it real. He still looks sleepy, both he and Cal, who is probably dozing again. Cody pulls on a shirt and chucks his sleep pants for a darker, loose pair, his usual day wear around their house. He rolls his eyes again, affectionately, and leans over Cal to press a final kiss to Obi-Wan's mouth, smiling. In a million imagined lifetimes, he never saw them here, in a place as perfect as this one. Like one of his furthest dreams come to live in technicolor, brighter for everyone in it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ten points if you can spot which disney movie i was watching while drafting this chapter 
> 
> also, bly definitely wasn't going to let cody be the only dad around these parts. aayla is honestly just surprised it took them this long


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyrimorut is a mystery, a myth. 
> 
> But it just might be real.

Cody has never seen Mandalore before. He’d heard stories, from Jango Fett, from the _Cuy’val Dar_ from the 501st, but never for himself. The planet rises to meet them without fanfare, the snowy surface inching closer and closer to their shuttle. This shuttle, their old home for so long before they secured their permanent lake house, is steady as an old companion. He can hear Obi-Wan’s patterned breathing beside him, in his old seat as the co-pilot. Mandalore is familiar to his _riduur_ , Cody knows. It brings old memories. 

He takes one hand off the control to place on Obi-Wan’s knee. There’s not a lot he can do to soothe all thoughts, but he can be here. He can feel the warmth of Obi-Wan curl around his mind in response to the touch. He opens his eyes, smiles at Cody, small and still distracted. A thought is pushed to him, a faint echo of _thank you_. 

Bail Organa’s rebellion has made significant strides lately, to the point where they’ve nearly reached a breaking point. The Senate is tentatively in their corner, tired of the endless funding and exploits of the Emperor’s attempts to subdue the systems reluctant to fall into his rule. Once, they were lucky to gain the support of a planet at all. Now, they’re multiplying by the day. 

But the new Dark Troopers have proved troublesome, and are thwarting the latest escorts run by the rebellion. Last week, they'd taken aim at Riyo Chuchi, snatching her from the surface of Coruscant. Had Wolffe and Fox not been nearby and able to handle the extraction themselves, it could’ve been a bleak situation. Pantora is one of Aldderaan’s staunchest allies against the Emperor, and they can’t afford to lose any support at such a critical time. They need a creative solution. One Cody thinks they might find here. 

Obi-Wan feels pensive, brooding through a tangle of thoughts beside him. Coy can’t decipher what they are, but their years together have made him more attuned to his partner’s impressions in his mind. Since they left for Mandalore, they’ve been a swirl of apprehension and uncertainty. Ahsoka, currently in the hold with Rex while they prepare for descent, had quietly offered to pluck the distress from her grandmaster’s mind when she thought the two clones weren’t listening. 

But it isn’t just the history that’s weighing on Obi-Wan’s thoughts, though it’s certainly a component.

“What do you know about Kal Skirata?”

Cody blows out a breath, clicking through the landing sequence without so much as glancing at the dash. “Not much,” he admits. “But Captain Ordo, I know him well enough. He’ll remember me.”

“Really?” It isn’t that Obi-Wan doesn’t believe him, he knows, rather that his guard is up and he’s planning for every possible eventuality. Including being blasted off planet by the very people they came to find. “When was the last time you saw him?”

Cody shrugs. “At least a year before the war ended. We weren’t close, and Skirata always kept his men close. Ordo more than most.”

Another furrow has appeared at Obi-Wan’s brow, to join the other’s already creasing across his face. Worried. “I heard the Null ARCs had quite a reputation.”

“‘Living Mandalorian legends’, like their namesake,” Cody agrees. Skirata’s six Null ARCs were famous among the GAR, notorious for their unpredictable nature and steadfast loyalty. They hadn’t cared for a supervisor or commanding officer, they’d only even listened to Skirata. The GAR has surrendered them to Skirata after Geonosis, completely out of depth on how to deal with six super soldier’s that could commandeer a planet overnight and who had no qualms about taking their fate into their own hands. Other rank and file troopers were obedient to a fault, but the Nulls took orders from no one other than Skirata. 

Rumors of Kyrimorut had been circulating since the end of the war, ones that Cody had initially dismissed out of hand when Wolffe brought it to his attention. It was too idealistic, too fairytale to be real. He’d never doubted Skirata’s dedication to his men, or them to him, but the idea that they had made it out whole, together, and had been living a life of domestic solitude since the fall of the Republic didn’t seem possible. But, since the rebellion had successfully rooted the Empire from their occupation on the planet, the rumors had only persisted, sounding more like fact than fiction. And for all the brothers they’ve managed to liberate and the Jedi they’ve managed to collect, they’re surprisingly short on clone commandos. 

Skirata collected commandos - _his boys_ , he always called them - like credits, and if Kyrimorut is real then there’s a good chance there are a lot of them there, as well. Enough to bolster their forces and finally gain the upperhand on the Empire in the field. Whether Skirata will talk or shoot first, is still to be seen. 

“Ready for this, Codes? General?” Rex’s blonde head pokes into the cockpit. He jerks his head back from where he came. “Could be coming in hot.”

“I should hope not,” Obi-Wan frowns, fingers drumming against his leg. “Or this will be quite the wasted trip, if the Sergeant blasts us out of the sky.” He looks pensive, expression still severe. Cody can’t tell if it’s truly nothing but worry over the mission itself, or if it’s lingering on their _ade_ back home. Caleb had been a bundle of restless energy, practically strumming to accompany them, but Obi-Wan wasn’t willing to let something of this nature be his first venture into the field. Ahsoka had suggested he was being overprotective, the same way Anakin used to be with her, but Cody had backed him. Ace was excited to be spending time with Wolffe and Echo, but had been a little too quiet when he hugged them both goodbye, clutched at Cody a little tighter than normal. They’ve never both been gone at the same time, not with Ace being so young. 

But Cody knows Obi-Wan’s thoughts are likely lingering on Cal. He had shot up lately, not quite as tall as Caleb, but twice as lanky. His bright red hair now hangs in long bangs over his forehead, so much like Obi-Wan’s own, and the freckles multiply across his nose with everyday spent in the sun. And his psychometry has grown as much as he has, sensitivity increasing in leaps and bounds, and his joint meditation has increased in response, measuring the inputs and filtering them. Obi-Wan’s old crechmate, Quinlan Vos, has only been on Alderaan for a short period, but he’s confided in Cody that he wants to employ Vos’ help for Cal’s benefit, see if can find a way to make the overwhelming emotions he experiences more tolerable. Obi-Wan has only just broached the idea with Cody, not yet with Vos, and so he’s more than likely dwelling on the idea, in addition to everything else. 

“It’ll be fine,” Cody assures him, a steady hand on the controls as the ship settles onto the snowy surface. He’s no fan of the cold weather and already looking forward to returning home. Mandalore once might have held the allure of being home, back when Jango Fett spun tales for wide-eyed cadets who only had dreams of something beyond the churning waters and white walls of Kamino, but it’s not anymore. Mandalore is just another planet, a stop on his way back to Alderaan. His home is where Obi-Wan, his _vode_ and _ade_ are. 

He takes Obi-Wan’s hand in his own as Rex leaves to fetch Ahsoka, soothing the fidgeting digits in his grasp. The pulse under his fingers is fast but not rapid. Cody runs his knuckles against it, deft. Obi-Wan, drawn out of his thoughts most easily by touch, looks up to meet him and smiles. 

“You’re right,” he says, squeezing Cody’s hand back in his own. With relative privacy, he leans forwards to press his mouth against Cody’s mouth, quick. “I’m just lost in my own thoughts again.”

“Nothing I should know about?” Cody has to ask. He doesn’t believe there’s trouble to find here, if there’s anything to find at all, the Nulls and Skirata are honorable Mandalorian, regardless, not ruthless brutes. But if his _riduur_ says those famous words - _I’ve got a bad feeling about this -_ he won’t even let the engine cool. The phrase used to race his heart, now, it’s even more ominous given the track record it holds. 

“No,” Obi-Wan says firmly, his troubled thoughts folding back into himself. He seems calmer now, steady. He leans into Cody for a moment, foreheads together, before he straightens and follows him out of the cockpit to the hatch. 

\--

Kyrimorut’s supposed location leads them to the edges of an intimidating compound, one that might have taken others aback, but Cody and Rex are not ordinary men. They stride up to it, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka flanking them on either side, with snow crunching against their boots and cloaks billowing in the breeze. It would be hard not to see them from a distance, even with the sparse tree cover, and their presence hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

Four figures are standing outside to meet them, all clad in various colors of _beskar’gam_. They’re standing in a similar formation, two in front, two flanking the back. One of the figures in front is shorter, with sandy colored _beskar_ , the other taller in red. Their helmeted faces give nothing away, not emotion or identity. That tends to unnerve most, but Cody has spent his entire life around raised around brothers in buckets. He doesn’t need a face to read emotion, but these seem to give nothing away. Just stalwart, critical observation. He stops about fifteen paces from them, Rex at his side. There’s a beat of silence, the Mando’s expect them to speak first. 

“I’m Cody Kenobi,” he says calmly, feels a twitch from Obi-Wan against his mind in response. He gestures. “This is my brother Rex, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.”

The Mando in red shifts, but no one says a word. Cody takes it as his cue to continue. “We’re here on behalf of Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan.” He pauses. “We’re looking for Sergeant Kal Skirata. Is he here?”

Silence stretches for a long moment. “No military here,” the sandy colored Mando says, voice carefully modulated by their _buy’ce_. 

“How about former military?” Rex is barely suppressing the urge to raise an eyebrow. Cody resists the urge to rub an elbow in his ribs. Rex was, at one point, just as straight laced as Cody was. The domesticity of their new life has softened him in many ways, the majority of which Cody is grateful for. But, maybe not at this moment. 

He clears his throat. “We know this isn’t a military installation. Neither are we.” He waits for an introduction and doesn’t get one. 

“And we’re not friends of the Empire,” Ahsoka pipes up. Obi-Wan remains silent, trusting Cody to take the lead. His emotions, so tangled before, are now quiet and tranquil like the lake’s morning surface, smooth as glass. The two of them are old hat at this, plenty of practice during the war, and even more in these preceding years. 

“We know that.” One of the Mando’s behind the shorter one breaks the silence. His _beskar’gam_ is red and black. His stance shifts, cocks a hip. “Wouldn’t have let you land, if we didn’t.”

Cody figured as much, but it was still sobering to hear it out loud. It left him feeling exposed in the worst way, outfoxed and known by an adversary whose name he didn’t even know. 

“Thank you for that,” Obi-Wan cuts in smoothly, stepping forward to bring him abreast with Cody and Rex. His smile is friendly, his hands held out in front of him in a universal sign of vulnerability. His ‘saber is tucked neatly away out of sight, lest it cause any unnecessary tension. “We’re not here to cause trouble. We’d just like to talk to Skirata, if he’s here. If we’re unwelcome,” he pauses. “Then we’ll leave, no questions asked.”

The Mandos seem to mull that over for a moment, Cody lets them. Mentally, he’s already triaging in his mind how long it will take them to get back to the shuttle, if there’s enough cover from ground fire to make it, thousands other technicalities. 

He was surprised that the Mando in the sandy _beskar’gam_ speaks first. “You had a hand in driving the Imps out?” he asks, bluntly. 

“Not us no,” Cody says. “But they were our people. The Rebel Alliance.”

“We have no love for the Empire,” the Mando continues. He reaches up and removes his _buy’ce_ with a hiss, the seal breaking against his skin. The man underneath is weathered with age, grey hair streaked with silver and a hard gaze. It matches the briefing documents perfectly, if a little older than his holopic from the GAR records. 

_Kal Skirata._

“Are you Sergeant Skirata?” Obi-Wan asks, redundant and polite, as always. 

“Not a Sergeant anymore,” Skirata says, his _buy’ce_ tucked under his arm. The other three Mandos don’t move. “Left all that behind. Just a family man, now.”

“We have that in common,” Cody offers. If he knows one thing about Kal Skirata, it’s that he’d do anything for his boys. 

“Then you understand,” Skirata looks away from Obi-Wan to fix Cody with his blue eyes without so much as turning his head. “Why I’ve got no interest in getting involved in another war.”

“Neither did we,” Rex says. “But we’ve got an interest in finishing it.”

“The Empire doesn’t care who signs up for this and who doesn’t,” Ahsoka says pointedly. “They don’t draw lines and they don’t see sides. Anyone in their way is collateral.”

“We know that,” the Mando in black _beskar’gam_ behind Skirata cuts in, sharp. “Do you think that we, of anyone, don’t know-”

“Dar.” The one beside him sets a hand on his shoulder and the quiet word cuts his furious words. The Mando - Dar - stiffens but quiets. But the words resonate with Cody. The voice is familiar, his own. _Clones_ . Carefully, he lifts the hood back and lets it fall to his shoulders. He knows his scar is distinctive. The Mando in the predominantly red _beskar’gam_ , at Skirata’s side, lets his fingers fall away from where they've been hovering by his blaster. He removes his helmet and even though his face belongs to a million men, Cody’s never had any trouble recognizing his brothers. 

“Commander Cody,” Null ARC Captain Ordo regards him with a steady gaze. His dark eyes are calm, calculating. “You made it out.”

Cody nods, careful not to make a wrong move or say the wrong thing. Ordo and his five brothers have never had allegiance to anything but Skirata and it’s unlikely that’s changed since the Republic fell. He doesn’t know how they got out, but he doesn’t need to. Skirata would’ve shot the Chancellor himself to free his boys from their service if he thought the man stood between them and the freedom he’s so frequently desired. Had it not been for Obi-Wan, Cody would be in the white plastoid himself, at the beck and call of anyone holding his leash. 

He reaches across to place a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “I had help.”

Ordo stiffens with recognition. “General Kenobi.” 

Obi-Wan cocks his head with a small smile. “No longer a general, either,” he corrects. 

“But still a Jedi.” Dar - _that was his name_ , Cody recalls - behind Skirata bites out. Cody’s not sure what’s put his back to the wall, but he’s coiled tight. Rex takes half a step forward, angles his back to Cody and Obi-Wan, Ahsoka too, both to put him between them and the threat. It’s subtle, but intentional. 

“The Empire slaughtered the Jedi.” His voice is strong, but Cody can hear just a slight undercurrent of emotion. “Murdered them in their home, on the battlefield, shot them in the back. They used us,” and here he’s looking at the angry Mando in the back - _the clone_ \- “to turn on them, against our will.”

“The Jedi are not our enemy,” Cody says. “They never were.”

Skirata blows out a breath. “We’ll make our own decisions about that.” He regards them up and down, Rex first, then Cody, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. “But we do have a common enemy.” He flicks a hand at the two behind him. “Fi, Dar, wait for us inside.” Dar begins to protest, but the other bodily hauls him into the compound, pushing him in front. They mutter amongst each other as they go, bickering like brothers. 

Skirata nods once at Ordo, and the Null ARC walks forward, holds out a hand and clasps Cody’s forearm when he takes it. Then he does the same to Rex, Ahsoka. Cody suspects they don’t know she’s a Jedi and well. He’s not keen to let them know. Obi-Wan is already out of the bag. 

Skirata stands in front of Obi-Wan, regards him with a cool gaze. “What do you want?”

“Help.” Obi-Wan watches him just as calmly. “We have an advantage with the Senate. But our numbers on the ground are small. We need reinforcements. We’ve been freeing clones, getting them away from the Empire, as many as possible.”

Skirata twitches, slightly. “So we’ve heard. Tend to keep a pulse on things, ourselves.”

Ahsoka frowns. “All the way out here? We didn’t pick up transmissions of any kind.”

“You wouldn’t,” Ordo says and he sounds proud, almost. “If you were, Jaing isn’t doing his job.” More Null ARCs. Cody wonders how many are here. Probably all of them. The other two Mandos, they were clones, but they weren’t Null. He wonders who they were. 

“We don’t recruit soldiers,” Rex says. “Just volunteers. No requirements, no titles. Jedi give us an edge. But we could use something else. Something...specialized.”

Skirata hums. He looks thoughtful. Ordo is watching him. “I’ve got no love for the Empire,” he admits. “And none for the Jedi either. But we’ve both got problems. If we help you with yours, maybe you can help us with ours.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan agrees pleasantly. “What could we help with?”

Skirata looks at Ordo, blows out a breath. “It’s my grandson.” He clears his throat. “Darman’s son. He has...abilities. They’ve grown past what we can really understand. I don’t like it, but he needs a teacher.”

“A teacher?” Rex echoes.

“Someone I trust,” Skirata says. He crosses his arms across his chest. “And I don’t trust a lot of Jedi.” He studies Obi-Wan, critically. Carefully. Then he looks at Cody. “I would’ve shot you out of the sky, once. Just on principle. But I’ve been reevaluating that, lately.”

“And what have you arrived at?” Cody asks warily. Rex and Ahsoka could take Skirtata, leaving Ordo for him. He’s not sure who will come out on top, he and Ordo are matched in a lot of ways past genetics, but he’ll tackle him head on before he’ll let Skirata lay a hand on his _riduur_. 

“You,” Skirata says plainly, looking right at him. “ _Kote_. Marshal Commander of the 212th, the 7th Sky Corps. Alpha-17’s pride, Jango’s glory.” He nods at Obi-Wan, once. “I don’t know you, but I know my boys. If Ordo says you’re good,” He shrugs. “Then we can give it a shot.”

Cody can feel the surprise from Obi-Wan and Ahsoka both, tries to suppress his own. Rex is harder to hide it, his eyes are wide. They were expecting a fight, a rejection more than likely. It isn’t a yes, but it’s an open door. One they can walk through. 

Ordo nods at Skirata, once. And then he turns, walking back toward the compound. Skirata trails behind their group, a sharp eye on Obi-Wan, but he’s asking questions and he doesn’t sound bloodthirsty, at least. Cody catches Rex’s eye. His brother is trained on the pair of them. Cody leaves him to monitor his _riduur_ and Skirata with Ahsoka as backup and lengthens his steps to catch Ordo. 

“How many do you have here?” he asks, truly curious. 

Ordo waves a hand. “More than I can count, now.”

Cody stares around at the hallways and huge structure, the fields of crops outside the compound, animals milling through pens beyond the fields, well fed and obviously cared for. This is a home, much like Alderaan. 

“ _Kal’buir_ doesn’t like Jedi, much,” Ordo continues. “But Kad needs someone. Jusik can’t be here all the time, and he’s away more often than not.” 

Cody decides to roll with the punch instead of asking who each individual person is. “And he’s willing to trust a Jedi like that?

“You did,” Ordo says simply. It’s without judgement or opinion. Just fact. “We were never close, Cody, but I respect you. And we may not have fought on the same front, but you thought the same of General Kenobi. Anyone could see it.”

“I still do,” Cody tells him. _More than you can know,_ he thinks. 

“That’s somewhere to start,” Ordo says with finality. He doesn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth twitches, like he wants to. He’s softened, since the war. Like Cody, like Rex. “And if it doesn’t go well, I doubt all of you would be a match for Darman.” 

“I can’t fault any father for protecting his children.” Cody thinks about Caleb, Ace, Cal. Thinks about how he would do anything for them, no matter the cost. He decides to take a chance, with this new Ordo. “I’d do anything for mine.” 

Ordo stops to look back at him, calculating, like he’s analyzing the new information. “We all would.” His gaze lingers behind them at the others, before he shoulders on, the window of emotion gone. Cody’s never seen so much outward expression from him, or any of the Nulls. They were famed for their unpredictability, their loyalty and their ability to do the impossible. Not their humanity. But talking to Ordo now, it’s like talking to someone new. Someone like the person Cody has become. Himself. 

He can feel Obi-Wan brush against his mind, a hopeful thread of optimism that tells him maybe Skirata is worth the trouble, and perhaps their journey isn’t as ill-fated as he feared. 

Kyrimorut is full of surprises. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb's first mission, Obi-Wan's very predictable nature and Cody's soft heart. In that order.

“You’re not gonna believe this one,” Rex says. 

“What’d you find?” Cody asks, biting into a meiloorun and trying not to jump to conclusions. He’s already gotten a text comm from Obi-Wan, just two letters, _AC_ , which is their special code for _all clear_ , so he’s not worried about someone’s safety. Beyond that, he has no idea how the mission went. He’d elected to stay behind this time. It’s Caleb’s first time in the field running an op and he’s wanted his _riduur_ there with their son, just in case. Cal and Ace are on Alderaan with him, spending the day with the twins. He can see them, as well as Breha Organa through the main window. They’re teaching the toddlers a game Obi-Wan calls _push feather_ , carefully lifting a white feather from the ground with the Force and pushing it through the air between them. They seem to be catching on quickly. 

What he did know about the op today was that they were infiltrating an experimental medical base, one that was rumored to be developing clone specific viruses. It was something they’d seen before in the war - Doctor Utahn had a hand in it before Omega squad had apprehended her on Qiilura - so the idea isn’t new. Their repeated success in liberating clone troopers and recruiting their to Bail Organa’s growing rebellion has made them a target. 

It’s a sign that Emperor Palpatine is growing frustrated, looking for other avenues because they’re _winning_. Just last month, they made connection with Clan Skirata on Mandalore, and with their help and Gregor, who had been with them after escaping Abafar, successfully liberated both Naboo and Mon Cal from Imperial occupation. Without the prowess to drive them back, unless the Emperor himself is willing to make an appearance, they’ve got the numbers and expertise to outweigh anything the Empire has. 

“A lot that I can’t make heads or tails of,” Rex admits. The finer workings of science and medicine are not his expertise. “Kix is taking stock of everything.” They’d found Kix only a few weeks ago, floating aimlessly in a cryotube, one of Count Dooku’s last acts. The former medic of the 501st is one of Rex’s closest brothers, and their reunion had been heartfelt. It makes Cody want to search that much more. 

There’s a pause from Rex’s line. Cody knows him well enough to know there’s something he needs to say but can’t find the words. He lets it rest for a minute and then sighs, parring another slice of meiloorun and eating it off the knife. “Just spit it out, Rex.”

Rex blows a breath through the line.

“There was a baby, in the lab. Caleb found her. Walked right up to her like he knew she was there.” Rex pauses and Cody waits for the hammer to drop. They’ve found a lot of refugees, clone and force-sensitive alike, and sometimes just regular people. Bail has helped relocate most of them, and those that chose to remain on Alderaan are welcomed. Children aren’t immune from the Empire’s hand, and they’re recovered more than a sensible amount of infants as well. Most of them, they’ve been able to reunite with their families or place with one. A baby in and of itself it’s a surprise. There’s something else. 

“They’d been using her to experiment. Taking blood tests, studying midichlorians, the whole works.” _Force sensitive, then._ When Rex is unhappy, his voice gets tight. Right now, you could rope a star ship with it. The absolute heartlessness it takes to hurt a helpless baby is a different level of evil. 

Cody takes a deep breath, wills himself to find a center away from rage. “How old?” he manages.

“Hard to tell,” Rex responds. “Undernourished, no birth date records on anything we could find. Can’t be older than a few months. They had her on an IV, hooked up. Don’t even think they were in there themselves. Probably used droids as a nursemaid.” 

“ _Chakaar_ ,” Cody curses low. A baby, a tiny being physically in need of touch, left to the tender metal mercies of a cold droid. “Did you burn the entire place to the ground?”

“After we took what we needed. The baby, she’s a sweet little thing,” Rex continues. “Seems to just love being held. She cries anytime we put her down, but other than that she’s been happy.”

“Gutless bastards,” Cody mutters, finishing off the rest of the fruit and setting the knife in the sink. He wonders if she has any family to speak of, or how long she’s been with under the Empire. Sometimes the records are easy to sort through, and sometimes they’re absolutely _osik_. Tech and Echo are going to have their work cut out for them, if the size of the raided lab is any indication. 

“She’s happiest with Obi-Wan, right now,” Rex says. “And Caleb, she really latched onto them both.”

“I bet,” Cody says. Obi-Wan and Caleb both radiate peace and kindness, a sort of harmony that comes from compassion. It’s enough to feel for even non-force sensitives. A baby, held captive and practically tortured with nothing but an Imperial droid for company? Obi-Wan probably feels like a furnace of heat in the middle of Hoth. “What’s your ETA?”

“Before sundown.” The day for now is lovely, sunny with a light breeze, but there are dark clouds over the distant mountains that promise rain tonight. He hopes they can make it back before the storms break. Fortunately, their new lightspeed engines have gotten even more efficient and the speed upgrade was uncanny. Tech does love a project, Cody thinks. He nods to himself and stares to click is comm off but there’s a silence that makes him stop. Rex hasn't signed off and almost seems to be holding his breath on the other end. Still, something lingers. 

“Rex?”

“There was one more thing. About the baby, I mean." Rex pauses like he’s not entirely sure how to break it, and then just goes for it, no holds barred. “She’s blind.”

\--

Stepping off the shuttle into a light rain, Obi-Wan squints at the grey sky. It was clear and blue when they left this morning, still soft with the traces of dissipating morning fog. Carefully, he shifts the infant higher in his arms and draws his cloak around her to shield her from the rain. Caleb, sidestepping around the others who are still unloading the shuttle, jogs to his side. The storm that Hunter warned them about has trekked across the mountains and is steadily advancing over the edges of the lake. The first rain is gentle, the next stage won't be. They need to be on their way before they're caught in it. 

The baby is awake with her face tilted to the sky. Her sightless eyes, a cloudy blue, are wide. Not for the first time, he wonders if she can see anything, edges, shapes, outlines, or if it’s all darkness. He wonders if she was born blind, or it was an unfortunate side effect of her short life in Imperial capture. The last one makes his heart race, fast and angry. Her little hands reach up out of his hold, like they’re reaching for the sky. A sprinkle of rain dusts across her nose and she starts at first, then reaches up again.

“Do you think she’s ever felt rain before, Da?” Caleb asks, watching her. 

“We can’t be certain,” Obi-Wan says, stepping carefully off the wet ramp, Caleb following after him. “But I would say this is a new experience.” She’s only a few months old by their estimate, at least, those are the weight and growth parameters she would meet for a human child, and other than a short life of desperate loneliness, she seems very healthy. Kix had given her a clean bill of health on the way back, minus the eyesight, cradling her with gentle hand and kind eyes. All of the clones have an innate kindness that makes Obi-Wan ache inside, remembering the citizens that claimed they were nothing more than meat droids during the war, devoid of any sense of compassion or humanity. How very wrong they all were.

The rain is beginning to fall more steadily, so Obi-Wan quickens his pace, rather than get drenched. Their place isn’t far. 

Cody is waiting outside their house, standing right under the overhang by the door. His arms are crossed over his chest as he watches them approach. Obi-Wan feels a familiar furl of warmth in his chest at the sight of him. It never seems to leave, no matter how many times he sees him. But for once, Cody isn’t looking at him. He’s staring at the baby, an unreadable expression on his face. 

He knows Rex talked to Cody before they’d left and if they spoke at all, he knows Cody knows what he thinks. What his intentions are. And if Rex didn’t prep him for a rejection or doubts, he’s not expecting one. Bly joked once that Obi-Wan has a tendency to bring strays home. It reminds him, in a nostalgic way, of Qui-Gon. Still, it’s always better to be cautious. 

“Now, before you say anything, let me explain.”

Cody raises an eyebrow at him, coy. “About what?”

The hard game then. Obi-Wan tucks the baby girl a little closer going up the stairs. Caleb is thrumming with a strange sort of tension at his side and he sends a thread of calmness to him through their bond. _Don’t worry,_ he projects. _Your buir’s not upset._

Obi-Wan knows Cody, knows him better than any person alive. He can read his moods, understand his fears and anticipate his thoughts in a way that only seems possible through their years together and a steadfast connection. But for the first time in a long time, he feels a little uncertain to how his _riduur_ will react. Instead of answering - playing cool is Cody’s game and it’s not one Obi-Wan will win because, well, his main deflection to that has always been to flirt with someone and there’s not a lot flirting with your husband of many years will get you - he places the baby right in Cody’s arms and waits.

Even if he’s not expecting it, Cody immediately brings hands up to cradle her closer, tucks her small body in the crook of his arm and looks her over. Her eyes are tracking from side to side, unable to see anything, but her hearing is impeccable. She’s listening, Obi-Wan realizes, tracking the new voice against the other two that she’s used to. He can feel her signature in the Force, probing and reaching into the world around her. With one of her primary senses gone, the others seem stronger, including her hold on the Force. 

It’s not that she doesn’t see, he realizes strangely, it’s just that she sees the world differently than they do. 

Cody studies her. She reaches for him and he obliges, letting her small hands explore his face, nose, mouth, ears. It’s like she’s mapping him, learning him in the only way she knows how. It’s hard not to melt his face at the sight. Obi-Wan gave himself up as a sap a long time ago, and he and Cody have three - _three_ \- boys together. It shouldn’t undo him just to watch him with a baby. And yet, his heart feels like puddy watching an infant grab his husband’s ear and yank it. Cody doesn’t flinch, just lets her have her way. 

“What’s her name?” Cody breaks the tension first, still staring at the baby. 

Obi-Wan clears his throat. “Breaine.”

“Family?”

“Gone,” Caleb says, fidgeting. A hand snakes through his hair. “That’s what the records said.”

Cody hums, thoughtfully. Obi-Wan lets him have his moment to mull it over. It’s strangely similar to the day they found Caleb on Kaller. It feels like a sweet symmetry, with their son standing here with them. They could most likely find a home for the baby with sympathizers, or one of Bail’s rebels would take her in. Kes and Shara, he knows they definitely want a large family, even if they haven’t started yet. But something tugged his heart when he saw her, like a beacon. The same way it did with Caleb, with Cal, with Ace. The Force never makes mistakes and Obi-Wan had made a lifetime out of listening to it. 

He hasn’t shared that specific thought with his husband, but Cody knows him. There’s only one reason likely for Obi-Wan to show up at home and place a baby in his arms. He’s not a fool. 

“Do we even have a _buycika_?” Cody’s feigning sternness but slipping fast. The humor is evident in his voice, masked enough that Caleb doesn’t catch it but Obi-Wan does. 

“I’m sure Bail has one that we can borrow,” he says, perfectly neutral. 

“Well, it’s not like we built a large house for nothing.” Cody’s voice is still deadpan but there’s a small smile creeping at the edges of his face. Caleb’s apprehension fails at the sight of it, his tumultuous anxiety giving way to a wave of relief. Caleb was the one who found the baby, walked right up to her like he’d known she was right around the corner, and he’s already fond of her. 

“And formula?” 

Obi-Wan nods. “I did spend time in the creche at the Temple, you know. I’m aware of what’s involved with caring for an infant.”

Cody huffs, the sound he makes when he’s trying not the laugh and can’t quite manage it. Breaine, who has been quiet the whole time, chuffs back at him. It’s a small noise that sounds almost like she’s trying to mimic him. It breaks the tension. Caleb laughs, outright. He claps a hand on his mouth to muffle the noise, but his eyes dance over the tops of his fingers. 

“I think she likes you _buir_ ,” he says. 

“This’ll be an all family affair, you know,” Cody says back to him. He’s letting Breaine hold his index finger in her grasp, so it really undoes the stern demeanor he’s going for. “Your Da and I won’t be the only ones losing sleep at night.” 

“She can’t be worse than Ace,” Caleb responds, motioning to the both of them. “Look, she’s already quieter!” 

Cody eyes their eldest thoughtfully, then hands Breaine to him. “Here,” he says with a sense of finality, motioning to the doors. Cal and Ace must be inside. There's a warmth in his eyes that he can't disguise. “Go show your brothers their new sister.”

Caleb’s face breaks into a blinding smile, clutching the baby to him. He nods furiously and slips into the house, calling for his younger brothers with his voice fading the further into the house he goes. 

Obi-Wan slides closer to Cody, takes his hand in his and threads their fingers together. Cody does him one better, slips the arm around his shoulders and tugs him into his side. Obi-Wan is a little damp, but Cody doesn’t seem to mind. He’s never let a little discomfort keep him from Obi-Wan’s side before. He can feel the steady pulse of Cody in his mind and a tangle of feeling. Surprise, bewilderment, and a steady thrum that means he's thinking intently. But over all of it, is an overwhelming sense of joy. 

“You know, if you don’t stop bringing children home, we’re going to run out of room,” Cody says. 

“I don’t see you complaining,” Obi-Wan smiles, the steady sense of Cody in his mind familiar. If he was irritated, upset, or even unsettled he would feel it. He doesn’t. “It’s not like we can make our own.”

Cody snorts softly into his shoulder. 

“I think you may have been spending too much time with Kal Skirata,” Obi-Wan tells him. 

“We can’t just give her to someone,” Cody retorts, his mind tightening momentarily before it relaxes again. “They wouldn’t understand the way she sees the world. Not like you do. They’d just think she was a liability. I talked to Rex,” he explains at Obi-Wan’s flare of confusion. “He thought the same thing.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan relaxes back into him. The rain is picking up, drumming on the roof steadily. They’ll be stuck in tonight, but it’s not a bad way to spend the evening. They can introduce the boys to Breaine, get the spare room next to theirs set up for her, comm the palace about some supplies. “She’s going to have a rough go of it.”

“Hmm?” Cody hums into his hair. “Of what?”

“Three brothers,” Obi-Wan clarifies. “They’ll never let another man or woman around her. She’ll be single forever.”

“You say that like I’m ever going to let someone close enough to break our daughter’s heart,” Cody scoffs. “Do you not know me at all?”

Obi-Wan’s chest pulses with affection. Cody protectiveness is like a blanket over their family, he’d do anything to protect them. He’s already proven it, a hundred times over. “I think I know you quite well.” He shrugs, feigning nonchalance and smiles at the way Cody looks at him. Cody always looks at him with a heartbreaking kind of love. 

Cody runs a hand across his knuckles, lets a soft smile slide across his face. “And I you, _cyra’ika,_ ” he says softly, then leans in to kiss him, once, twice, three times, each deeper than the first. Maybe it will build to something, steady and deep, if they can convince Caleb and Cal to keep Ace and Breaine occupied for the night. 

The baby's cry from inside reminds Obi-Wan that they are parents first. He pulls away first, even though he wants to linger. There’ll be time later. There’s always time for them now. “Our daughter wants us,” he says, just to see the look in Cody’s eyes. _Our daughter._ It has a nice ring to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was absolutely, positively, always going to give them a baby.


End file.
